Scouting the Opponents#34 Virginia Tech (12-5, 4-4 ACC)Series: Georgia Tech leads, 14-2The Yellow Jackets look to extend its 14-match winning streak against the Hokies on Friday. In the history of the series, Virginia Tech only won two matches against Georgia Tech in 1986 and 1987. The Yellow Jackets have won the past 14 straight, including two last season. The Jackets defeated Virginia Tech, 6-1, on the road and won 4-0 in the second round of the ACC Tournament.

The Hokies also had an upset recently, defeating #16 Miami. 4-3. Virginia Tech’s Francesca Fusinato is 10-3 this season, including a 9-3 mark on court two and is ranked #86 in the nation. Ilinca Stoica checks in at #106 in the rankings, and is 6-8 on court one this season. Fusinato and Raluca Mita have played on court one in doubles this spring, going 7-4.

#22 Clemson (11-7, 6-3 ACC)Series: Clemson leads 28-9The Yellow Jackets are in search of their first win against Clemson since a 5-2 win in 2011. Clemson has four singles players ranked in the ITA rankings and two doubles pairs. #19 Joana Eidukoynte boasts the best ACC record for the Tigers with an 8-1 record. #35 Romy Koelzer is 8-6 on court one this season while #84 Beatrice Gumuly is 6-3 in conference play. #119 Jessy Rompies is also 6-3 in ACC play and has played mostly on courts four and five.

In doubles, #3 Gumulya and Rompies have gone 12-2 on court one and 6-1 in ACC matches. #76 Koelzer and Tristen Dewar play at the number two spot and have gone 7-6.

Moving Back UpThe Yellow Jackets dropped down to as low #57 in the ITA rankings as after starting the season out ranked #18. Tech has been slowly climbing back up the rankings, checking in at #36 this week, after picking up some impressive ACC wins. The Yellow Jackets are currently on a three-match winning streak that kicked off with a 4-3 win against #32 Notre Dame. Tech then went on the road to blank Wake Forest, 7-0, and pull off an upset of #17 Duke, 4-3. The Yellow Jackets have now won three-straight matches against Duke, including a 4-3 win last season when Duke was ranked #1 in the country.

Ranked OpponentsOut of Georgia Tech’s 14 dual match opponents, 11 have been ranked in the top 75 of the ITA’s weekly rankings. The Yellow Jackets have faced five top-20 teams, including the #1 team, North Carolina, and #3 Georgia. Both of Tech’s next two opponents are ranked – #34 Virginia Tech and #22 Clemson.

ACC StandingsThe #36 Jackets currently are tied for seventh in the ACC standings after competing in eight ACC matches thus far. #2 North Carolina sits atop the conference standings with a 9-0 record. #16 Miami and #24 Duke are tied for second with 7-1 records while #9 Virginia has a 6-2 conference record. #22 Clemson and #40 Notre Dame are tied for second with a 6-3 record. #36 Georgia Tech is tied with #63 Boston College with a 5-3 record.

Who clinched the match?In Georgia Tech’s eight wins this season, each Yellow Jacket as clinched the deciding point at least once. Junior clinched a team-best two matches at the number three singles spot against #59 South Florida and NC State. Sophomore also clinched a match on court three, defeating her opponent against #18 Columbia. Freshman won the deciding match against #31 Tennessee on court one. Junioe win on court four against Louisville secured Georgia Tech’s victory. Freshman clinched the first match of her career after defeating her opponent on court five in singles against #32 Notre Dame. Her three-set win broke a 3-3 tie in the match.

Freshman Johnnise Renaud’s win on court one against Wake Forest clinched the victory on the way to a 7-0 Tech victory. Against #17 Duke, sophomore Alexa Anton-Ohlmeyer clinched the first match of her career, for her win on court five broke a 3-3 tie and helped the Jackets upset the #17 Blue Devils.

Dominant in Doubles The Yellow Jackets have won the doubles point in nine of 14 matches and are 6-3 when winning the doubles point. The Jackets are 2-3 when losing the doubles point and came back to defeat #32 Notre Dame and #17 Duke after dropping the doubles point. Tech won the doubles point against #38 Columbia, #59 USF, #31 Tennessee, NC State, Louisville and Wake Forest on its way to winning the match. The Jackets won the doubles point against #19 Oklahoma State, #3 Georgia and #67 Florida State but fell in those matches.

Jackets in the RankingsThe Yellow Jackets jumped up nine spots in this week’s ITA rankings to #36. The Jackets have two singles players and two doubles duos ranked.

Freshman checks in at #70 in the singles rankings this week. Hourigan is 6-2 on court two in singles and is 8-4 in dual match play. She is 4-3 against nationally ranked players. Freshman is the #92 ranked singles player. Renaud 6-8 so far this spring and has played at both the number one and two positions.

Hourigan and junior moved up to #22 in the doubles rankings after being ranked at #35. Hourgian and Woodard are 7-1 on both courts one and two and have defeated two nationally ranked opponents. Freshman and sophomore are ranked #74 with a 1-3 dual match record on court two. The duo picked up a win against the 13thranked doubles team against Georgia.

Next UpThe Yellow Jackets return home to the Ken Byers Tennis Complex for three straight matches, hosting Northwestern on Wednesday, April 8 at 3 p.m., Boston College on Friday, April 10 at 4 p.m. and Virginia on Sunday, April 12 at noon.